


So maybe I'll remember

by GonerLoner



Series: vent fics [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Happy Birthday Keith (Voltron), Hugs, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Keith (Voltron) Needs a Hug, Lance is soft, SO MUCH FLUFF, keith's birthday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-22
Updated: 2018-10-22
Packaged: 2019-08-06 03:44:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16380755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GonerLoner/pseuds/GonerLoner
Summary: Keith's birthday is here and he's spending it on a desert planet, thinking of home and childhood memories.But then a certain paladin comes to make everything a tad better.





	So maybe I'll remember

**Author's Note:**

> It's the 23rd here already so imma wish our fire boy a happy, happy birthday!  
> Had this birthday prompt sitting in my notes since last year and I'd thought why not write it out this year.
> 
> Enjoy loves...I should probably read over it again, but I have uni tmrw and I won't have time to correct this and then post it so imma do it now.
> 
> I'm sorry if it's horrible, haha.
> 
>  
> 
> (Setting of this? Idk. Somewhere around s4, I guess, haha.)  
> <33

_So maybe I can remember_

A knock on the door made Kolivan raise his head, frowning in question on who was disturbing him at this late hour.

The whole base was already asleep…

Was it something urgent?

Did something happen?

He sighed before calling out to whoever was outside of the door to come in while putting his datapad away – and his eyebrows rose in surprise as he saw Keith standing before him.

Keith was…probably the last being he would have expected at that hour.

Keith, Krolia’s son.

One of the members of Voltron.

“Keith”, he greeted the younger, rising from his position on the bed. “Is there something you need from me?”

The young warrior looked to the side, gnawing on his lips a bit – a sign to Kolivan that he was nervous.

But why?

He was still wearing his uniform, dusted in hues of red – the leader knew he and Regris had already come back from their mission about five vargas ago…

More than enough time for him to get cleaned  up again.

Eventually, he sighed, looking up at Kolivan with a strange sheen in his violet eyes. “I’m asking to be dismissed for another few hours.”

The Galra tilted his head, taking a few steps closer to Keith who was still standing by the door. “Why is that?”

“I…” He took a deep breath, straightening a bit. “Regris and I have found a planet today with similar conditions to the one I came from…Earth. And…” He stopped, looking down on his hands. “I’d like to visit it again…spend a few hours on my own.”

Kolivan frowned, but then closed his eyes with a sigh. Was there really a reason to say no to him?

The Marmora base was safe and secure where it was situated between the two stars, no enemy had found them until now.

Even it didn’t sit well with him to let one of his warriors go off completely on their own.

But this was Keith…even if he said no now, he would probably still go.

“I trust you to take care of yourself when going off alone, Keith.” He crossed his arms behind his back. “Take your communicator and your blade with you in case something happens.”

A slight smile softened Keith’s features before he nodded and turned around to leave again.

The door closed behind him with a soft hiss.

**

The sun was just about to set on the desert planet as Keith’s glider touched the stony ground, causing clouds of red sand to whirl up, levitating through the air as the thrusters powered down.

For a second, he just sat inside of the cockpit, staring outside until the dust had settled again.

He had chosen a stony cliff to land on, not far from the edge where it dropped down into a deep canyon, cutting through the landscape.

The burning orange sun was already touching the horizon, casting an eerie glow over the land, bathing everything Keith laid his eyes on in hues of orange, ochre, yellow and red.

Activating his mask, he exited the cockpit and walked to the edge of the cliff, sitting down and staring into the abyss in front of him.

He hadn’t told Kolivan the whole truth.

Here on Planet Nabeela, the conditions weren’t like they were on Earth…partly, but it was more like the planet was covered by a desert similar to the Sahara.

With much more stones.

And more heat.

His scans showed him that the air was breathable for him, but he didn’t want to take off his mask to try it out.

At least…not now.

Pulling one leg up to curl his arms around, he leaned his forehead on his knee and sighed a bit.

Part of the reason he came here was that he got a message on his communicator earlier…a reminder of his birthday.

His 19th birthday.

Probably Hunk messed around with it when Keith showed him his equipment and programmed it so Keith didn’t forget his own birthday…he didn’t know for sure.

It didn’t really matter.

The first thing that came to his mind was the desert on the planet he had visited with Regris earlier…it somehow reminded him of home. Of where he spent the biggest part of his time…before being ejected into space.

He wouldn’t really call his shack in the desert of California back on Earth his home…but it was the only thing he had. The only thing that had felt closest to a home for him.

If he now thought about it, it was pathetic, really. He as a whole being had been pathetic after Shiro’s disappearance.

His hands clenched into fists as he remembered the fights with Adam, the things he screamed at him before he ran off to choose that lonely life in the desert.

Looking up again, he let his eyes wander over formations of red, crumbly stone, over landscapes of dunes on the far horizon, over orange glowing clouds in the sky.

He thought back to his childhood, where his birthdays had never mattered to anyone.

In none of the families he lived in did he get special things for his birthday.

At least not until he met Shiro and Adam.

They didn’t throw birthday parties for him...but they hugged him and brought him small presents and sometimes he wished they had been able to adopt him.

Maybe then he wouldn’t have to endure what had happened during his stay in the orphanage.

He gritted his teeth, his hand clenching into a fist again. No, he wouldn’t think about that now.

Another thought crossed his mind and he reached behind himself to pull his luxite knife out of the sheath on his back. Deep in thoughts, he looked at his reflection in the smooth, sharp blade, only to find the glowing orbs of his mask staring back at him.

His time with the Blade hadn’t brought him closer to his mother until now… He knew she was at least half Galra and was a member of the organization, but questions of that nature directed towards Kolivan didn’t bring him anything other than a sigh and then silence. It drove him almost mad.

He sighed, his grip around the handle tightening. He knew that his primary mission was to help the Blade warriors in every way he was able to…but he hadn’t forgotten about his own personal mission to find his mother. He knew she was out there somewhere…and he had to find her.

He needed answers.

And he would get them.

Sighing, he sheathed the knife again, looking up in the sky.

The thought of visiting the Castle once again came to his mind. It had been a while since he last saw the other paladins…they had talked over their communicators, yes, but they hadn’t seen each other in person.

Lance’s face appeared in his mind and he closed his eyes with a sigh. Okay, maybe he missed the former blue paladin a bit more than the others? He had a lot of time to think during the lonely nights in his sleeping chamber at the Marmora base.

They were at war and Voltron was needed in nearly every end of the universe…so there wasn’t much time for the paladins to come to visit the Marmora base.

But maybe he could-

The distant roaring of a spaceship disrupted his train of thoughts.

Keith frowned and jumped up, ready to run back to his fighter in case he was spotted by a galran fleet – but then the something high up in the sky came closer…and a roar that was achingly familiar to Keith vibrated through the air again.

His eyes widened, his stance relaxed.

Red?

A warm sound of a happy, rumbling purr filled his mind as if it was responding to his thoughts.

Indeed, a few seconds later the red lion of Voltron touched down a bit away from his fighter and lowered her head to the ground, her jaws opening.

Keith tilted his head, walking towards the big spaceship just in time to see Lance walking out of Red’s mouth.

The former blue paladin looked around for a second before his eyes settled on Keith and he smiled behind his visor. “Huh, so that’s why Red wanted me to fly out in the middle of the night.”

Keith scoffed, his arms crossing in front of his chest. “A hello to you too, Lance.” Even though he couldn’t help the smile appearing on his face.

He knew Lance couldn’t see it and maybe that was for the better.

Somehow, he knew that the reason the other came here wasn’t just because Red asked him to fly her here.

Lance laughed, walking closer while taking off his helmet. “Yeah, yeah, hello, Mullet.”

His hair was ruffled and he stifled a yawn before he came to a stop in front of Keith, raising his arms and hugging him gently. “Happy Birthday, samurai.”

Keith blinked surprised before a laugh escaped his lips and he raised his arms to return the embrace. Both of them were clad in their respective armor which meant that Keith barely felt the contact – but it still made something fuzzy bloom in his belly.

“You flew all the way here just to say ‘Happy Birthday’ to me? How did you even know I was here? And…how do you even know that today’s my birthday?”

Lance shrugged when they drew back from each other. “Pidge had made this thing for us that keeps track of the passing days – you know, the thing which allowed you to throw me this surprise party.” His smile was far gentler than Keith was used to from speaking with him.

It made something flutter inside of him.

“And as to how I knew you were here…I couldn’t sleep tonight so I went to talk – ‘bond’ – with Red and it seems like she knew today’s a special day for you and she didn’t want you to be alone and to be fair, I think she also misses you and we all do-“ He interrupted himself to take a deep breath, coughing slightly when some of the red dust got into his lungs.

“Eh, well, yeah…So I guess we both missed you and Red knew how to find you and so we went off without saying anything? Sooo…no one on the castle knows I’m here.” He threw a sheepish smile at Keith and even though the other thought it was quite endearing – Lance mostly was the impersonation of _endearing_ , if he was being honest – it still struck him wrong.

He frowned. “Lance, what if there happens something back at the Castle? They can’t form Voltron without you if the Galras attack.”

Lance shrugged. “I still have my helmet with me so they can contact me if anything happens – besides…okay I’m quite sure that Blue knows where we went and she will tell Allura. I kind of got the feeling that she would assure the others that I’m not in danger.”

“Lance, still…-“

“Oh, shut it, Samurai, I know you’re happy I’m here.” His confident smirk was back as he crossed his arms and Keith hated how right he was.

“And can you please deactivate your goddamn mask? The air here is breathable for us, there’s no need for you to keep it up – even though it’s quite hot…Anyway.” Lance shook his head and sighed. “I just…I just want to see your face. Please?”

And who was Keith to say no to him?

So, he rolled his eyes but deactivated the Marmora mask of his uniform and pulled his hood down, ruffling through his slightly sweaty hair and then looking at Lance with a lifted eyebrow.

The other’s face lit up with a smile. “There you are. I like seeing your expressions when I talk to you.”

“It’s still hot out here”, Keith grumbled a bit, his eyes looking up to Red and he had to swallow at the longing that suddenly filled his chest.

It must have shown on his face, because Lance’s voice was soft when he spoke again. “Then let’s stay inside Red’s cockpit for a while, huh? I don’t know if you still hear her…but she misses you a lot and I think you also want to talk to her for a bit.”

Almost absentmindedly, he nodded.

 

He couldn’t describe the feeling in his chest as he sat down in Red’s pilot chair. Lance was standing behind him, at a safe distance to give Keith some feeling of privacy.

And even if Keith so wasn’t used to Lance behaving so…so considerate towards him, he liked it a lot. He was thankful for it.

A warm feeling washed over him as he concentrated on the link to Red, the love of a mother for her cub, triggering a feeling inside of him, so intense it made tears rise to his eyes.

Yes, he wasn’t Red’s paladin anymore, but he still could feel her in his head…even if it wasn’t as intense as to when he was still so closely connected to her.

“Thank you for coming…I missed talking to you”, he whispered, hesitating before adding in an even quieter voice: “And…thank you for bringing Lance here. I guess I did miss hi-the others a bit more than I thought.” A barely there smile ghosted over his lips. “Not being alone on my birthday…is a nice sensation…I guess.”

Again, a warm, rumbling purr filled his mind, combined with a rush of almost protective warmth before he heard the sound of Lance’s footsteps coming closer.

The pilot chair turned around, making him blink in confusion for a second before he realized how close Lance was standing in front of him. A blush colored his cheeks pink as he looked up to the other paladin.

Carding his fingers through his messy, light-brown hair, Lance smiled gently. He had shed his armor and now was only wearing his black undersuit, Keith realized. “It’s indeed a nice sensation.”

He opened his arms. “Will the birthday boy let me hug him again?”

Keith chuckled, standing up slowly. “Maybe. If you make it worth my time.”

Lance laughed. “After Hunk, I give the best hugs on the castle, Mullet.”

“Well then show me, Sharpshooter.”

And suddenly he was engulfed in a cocoon of warmth, the slight smell of sweat, salt and _Lance_. It made him sigh, his muscles relaxing the longer the hug lasted and his head sinking to Lance’s shoulder, his own arms coming up to wrap against Lance’s middle and press him closer against the other.

The red paladin chuckled, turning them both around so he could sit down on the pilot chair again and pull Keith into his lap who just went with it, the feeling of exhaustion suddenly catching up with him and making him yawn quietly against Lance’s shoulder.

He was so tired…A quick nap couldn’t hurt, right?

Lance was indeed very comfortable and warm, even through both their uniforms and it was a feeling Keith had missed during…well, since the members of the Kerberos mission had been proclaimed dead.

“Lance?”, he whispered.

“Hm?”

“Thanks…thank you for coming today.”

A gentle chuckle. “I’m glad you’re happy with my company.” A pause. “Happy birthday, Samurai.”

Keith drifted off with a smile on his face.

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
